A Visual History of the Catalog

For as long as we can remember, the catalog has been a vital part of the shopping experience. Catalogs are so ingrained in our daily lives that it can be easy to forget they have a very rich and interesting history.

Why was the first catalog created? What catalog trends went in and out of fashion? How did the catalog develop into what it is now?

Read on if you’d like to find out, as we present the history of the catalog, including some flashbacks to great vintage material.

The first catalog ever published is (almost) medieval

Manutius founded his company “The Aldine Press” at Venice in 1495. The invention of the printing press earlier that century made it possible for Manutius to efficiently produce the first printed editions of many Greek and Latin classics.

Seed companies take the next step in catalog evolution

Even today it’s hard to find a seed company that does not offer a catalog. Just a quick online search reveals a huge list of free seed catalogs for your seed-shopping needs.

The roots of these seed catalogs lie in 1667, when the English gardener, William Lucas, published a catalog with seed prices for his customers. The trend traveled to colonial America when William Prince of the Prince Nurseries published a catalog of fruit trees in 1771.

Benjamin Franklin invents the mail order concept

Franklin published “A Catalogue of Choice and Valuable Books, Consisting of Near 600 Volumes, in most Faculties and Sciences”. On the opening page, the terms of sale for the books he offered, are clearly described:

Opening page for the catalog of books sold in Benjamin Franklin's print shop.

Most notably, Franklin made it possible for people to purchase his books without visiting the shop: “Those Persons that live remote, by sending their Orders and Money to said B. Franklin, may depend on the same Justice as if present.”

Not much later, another large player entered the catalog field. Established by Alfred Hammacher in New York City in 1848. Hammacher Schlemmer published its first catalog in 1881.

As they’re one of the earliest still surviving mail order businesses, we’re proud to have Hammacher Schlemmer as our customer. We help them publish their catalogs online and you can find their latest catalog here.

It was during this period—in 1963—that J.C. Penney launched their first catalog. While traditional mail order companies only had catalogs to go by, J.C. Penney was one of the first to use the catalog as a supplementary channel. J.C. Penney made it possible to order from their catalog while visiting their physical stores.

After rapid decline, catalogs still promise to be a valuable channel

According to the Direct Marketing Association, the number of catalogs mailed peaked in 2007. Then, the Great Recession caused retailers to slice catalog budgets. Simultaneously, the rise in online sales and marketing made print seem redundant.

However, the DMA emphasizes that print is not dead. Here are some interesting statistics from their report about catalogs:

30% of people polled reported that a catalog recently drove them online to shop;

People found catalogs the most interesting type of standard mail – even surpassing newspapers and magazines by 31%;

There has been a 23% increase in overall response, despite the 4.5% decrease in catalogs mailed.

They summed the modern catalog up as being “a standout engagement tool, a brand-enhancer and a mighty push online.”

This is much in line with what we wrote in earlier posts about the catalog:

One great example of a modern catalog is this fall’s mail order catalog from Billabong.

Women's Fall 2017 Billabong Mail Order Catalog.

Vintage inspiration

Digging into vintage catalog examples and old mail order businesses was both interesting and enjoyable to us. It has really helped us to gain a better understanding of the catalog and it’s history. Hopefully you find this post as enlightening and enjoyable as we do. Let us know what you think in the comments below.

And on a final note, if you’re looking for more vintage inspiration or nostalgia, here are some of the awesome sources we found: